Sphinctus | BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 11 

same host. He describes the cocoon thus: ‘f Der Cocon, in der Form 
eines Lophyren-Ténnchens, hat 3 Lange, ist rothbraun und sehr fest. 
Das neben demselben liegende Thier lag noch in dem gekriimmten 
Zustande einer Puppe. Die Farbung war zwar schon so ausgepragt, dass 
man die Species erkennen konnte ; jedoch war die Farbenvertheilung 
héchst eigenthumlich; das Schwarz pravalirta mehr als bei den 
entwickelten Stiicken unserer Sammlung, indem man vom 3ten Ringe an 
mehr Schwarz als Gelb bemerkte. Es entstanden ahnliche schwarze 
Querbinden, wie bei J/e/opius.”” This exactly agrees with a cocoon given 
me, together with its imago, by Dr. Chapman, who bred it on 25th 
August, rgo1, from a German specimen of Limacodes Testudo. The egg 
is curiously petiolate, and has been described by Dr. Hartig (/.¢.) 
It was not known as British to Westwood in 1840, though recorded by 
Desvignes in 1856 on the strength of three examples, still in the National 
Collection, taken by Dr. Leach “in the west of England.” That the 
latter only knew it from Ingall’s specimen appears improbable, since 

Ingall says, in putting his “Capture of Sphinctus serotinus of Gravenhorst”’ 
on record (Zoologist, xiv, 1856, p. 5326) that he beat “‘a single specimen 
of this, one. of the very rarest of our Ichneumonidae, out of an oak tree in 
Wickham Wood,” about the middle of September, 1856, and he would 
certainly have given it as new to Britain if such were the case, since Fred. 
Smith named it. Smith refers to the above capture (Ent. Ann. 1857, 
p- 33), gives the exact date as September 13th, and adds that “‘it 
appeared very sluggish and made no attempt to escape. Although 
diligent search was made a second example could not be found. . . . 
Only a few specimens have occurred in this country.” In spite of these 
few, Marshall regarded it as doubtfully British in 1872 (Trans. Ent. Soc. 
p- 264). That it is rare with us is certain—its single host is by no means 
common—but it is now well authenticated as British. Bridgman named 
both sexes, bred by W. H. B. Fletcher, presumably at Worthing, towards 
the end of September, and for the third time, raised the Braconid, 
Pelecystoma lutea, Nees, from the same host (E. M. M. 1889, p. 433, where 
hyperparasitism is suggested). Another indigenous example is in my 
collection and was captured in the Blean Woods in Kent, in 1898, by the 
late A. J. Chitty. 
